This invention relates to limiting movement of aircraft fuel away from the aircraft's fuel zone, particularly movement of aircraft fuel through the aircraft's inert gas generation system.
Inert gas distribution systems are used to introduce inert gas to fuel tanks within an aircraft. The introduced inert gas, such as nitrogen enriched air, covers the interior of the fuel tanks and displaces a fuel-air mixture within the tanks. As the aircraft uses more fuel, more inert gas is introduced into the fuel tanks. The inert gas desirably reduces the possibility of a fuel-air mixture igniting within the fuel tanks.
As known, the fuel tanks are located within a fuel zone of the aircraft. Flammable fuel is normally present within the fuel zone. The inert gas distribution system is located outside the fuel zone within a flammable leakage zone. In the flammable leakage zone, flammable fuel may be, but is not typically, present. It is often required to maintain a fuel barrier between the fuel zone and the flammable leakage zone. The onboard inert gas distribution system undesirably provides a potential pathway for fuel to leak from the fuel zone to the flammable leakage zone.